تُرۡجَعُ

19:34; 22:67; 30:41; 40:12; 45:27.

Important Words:

اموات (without life) is the plural of میت which means: (1) a thing dead, or (2) a thing without life. Thus the word میت is used both for a thing which so far has had no life and for a thing which had had life but is now dead. The word میت is also used about one who is dying or is nearing death but has not yet died (Lane). See also 2:20.

احیا (he gave life) is derived from حیی which means, he lived or he had life. The transitive form احیا means, he gave life, he brought to life, he saved the life of (Aqrab & Lane).

حیاة (life) which is the opposite of موت (death) signifies: (1) the faculty of growth, as in an animal or a plant; (2) the faculty of sensation; (3) the faculty of intellect; (4) freedom from grief or sorrow; (5) everlasting life in the world to come; (6) advantage or profit or a means thereof; (7) state of activity and power (Lane).

تکفرون (you disbelieve) is derived from کفر (he disbelieved) already explained under 2:7. The infinitive form is کفر(disbelief). کفربالله (disbelief in Allah) means not only disbelieving in the existence of God but also denying His attributes and refusing to obey His commandments.

Commentary:

This verse reverts to the original subject of revelation. The question of the reward of believers and the punishment of disbelievers was only incidental. The real subject is that of revelation. In this verse the Quran explains why spiritual life would be impossible without revelation. Nobody can know anything about the next life without the help and guidance of God Who alone knows everything. The verse points out that when God provides for our physical needs, there is no reason why He should not provide for our spiritual needs, which are much more important.

God is Wise. If human life had no purpose, God would not have created it; having created it, He would not have made it subject to death, unless there had been an afterlife. If death were the end of all life, the creation of man would turn out to be mere sport. The fact that God does all this shows that He has created man not to return to dust after a life of 60 or 70 years but for a better, fuller and everlasting life, which he must live after death.

The word "then" in the clause, then to Him shall you be made to return, hints that after death the human soul does not at once go to Heaven or Hell. There is an interim period in which the soul is made to taste some of the good or bad results of its deeds. The resurrection which will herald a full and complete requital will take place later.

The mentioning of life twice (in the words احیا and یحیی) may also refer to the rise of Islam in this world, for Islam is the means of spiritual life. Islam had its first life in the time of the Holy Prophet; the second life was to come in the Latter Days. This is referred to in 62: 4, where it is said that the Holy Prophet of Islam will make, as it were, a second appearance in the world. The promise has been fulfilled in the person of the Holy Founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement.

3:130, 190; 4:132; 57:11.

Commentary:

As whatever is in the heavens and in the earth belongs to God, so it was in the fitness of things that finally a Prophet with a universal mission should have been raised. The previous system of raising separate Prophets for separate peoples and separate periods was meant only by way of preparation. Now was the time of one God and one Prophet.

6:159; 16:34; 89:23.

Important Words:

یاتیھم الله (Allah should come to them) is a metaphorical expression, meaning, Allah should come to them with His punishment, i.e. Allah should punish them. The metaphor ایتان الله i.e. coming of God, is used by the Quran elsewhere also (16:27; 59:3). In contrast to this, the Quran uses the metaphor توب الله i.e. turning of God, to express His turning with mercy (2:38; 9:117.) Similarly, ایتان الملئکة i.e. the coming of the angels, indicates their coming with punishment.

ظلل (coverings) is the plural of ظلة (zullah) which is derived from ظل and اظل the latter word meaning, he or it afforded or cast a shadow. But whereas ظل (zill) the plural of which is ظلال or اظلال means, shadow, ظلة whose plural is ظلل, means, a covering or a shade, i.e. a thing that casts or gives a shade or a shadow (Aqrab). The word ظلة or ظلل is generally used in connection with punishment (Mufradat).

الغمام (clouds) for which see 2:58. The word has been used by the Quran both in connection with mercy (7:161) and punishment (25:26).

Commentary:

The form of speech has been changed here from the second to the third person. The verse has apparently been addressed to either disbelievers or to hypocrites and the weak in faith. If it be taken to refer to disbelievers, as the change of form in the address indicates, it would mean that by desisting from belief they are, as it were, waiting for the punishment of God, and the verse incidentally hints that appointed punishment would come to them through raining clouds. The reference is to the Battle of Badr, when God helped believers by sending down clouds and rain (Bukhari), as was promised (25:26), and also sent down angels (8:10) who inspired the believers with courage and filled the hearts of the disbelievers with fear (8:13). Some of the disbelievers are reported to have actually seen the angels on that day (Zurqani). The matter was then "decided"; for, on that memorable day, all the chief leaders of the Quraish were killed, the Muslims obtaining a decisive victory which broke the power of the enemy. The coming of clouds refers to the rainfall which on the battlefield of Badr proved a blessing for the Muslims. It made the sand firm for them, while the land on the side of the enemy, being clayey, became slippery.

If, however, the verse be taken to refer to the hypocrites or the weak in faith, as the preceding two verses would suggest, then the clause, that Allah should come to them in the coverings of the clouds, would mean that if they did not mend their ways, God would have to chastise them even though they were apparently resting in the shade of faith, which is likened to a غمام or cloud. As shown under Important Words above, the word غمام (clouds) is sometimes used in connection with God’s mercy (7:161).

57:12, 19; 64:18.

Important Words:

یقرض (will lend) is derived from اقرض which again is derived from قرض. They say قرض الشیء i.e. he cut or severed the thing.اقرضه means, he gave him a loan. اقرض فلانا means, he cut off for him a portion so that he may requite or recompense it. قرضmeans, the act of giving a loan; a loan itself; any good or evil act which brings reward or punishment (Lane).

یقبض (receives) is derived from قبض. They say قبض الشیء i.e. he got hold of it; he received it. قبض یدہ عنه means, he kept back or withdrew his hand from it. قبض الله رزقه means, God straitened his means and lessened his provision (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This verse gives the second means of national advancement, i.e. free expenditure in nation-saving and nation-building affairs. If a nation desires to rise and prosper, it must spend money freely for national purposes, which include helping the poor and the needy. The Quran speaks of spending money in the cause of Allah as giving a loan to God, meaning thereby that money spent in the cause of God should not be regarded as something wasted or even consumed. It should be considered as something given to God as a loan which He would return to the lender manifold. The word loan, however, should not cause any misunderstanding. God needs no loans, for He is not only Self-Sufficient, but is also the Supporter and Sustainer of all other beings and things. He has used the term to indicate that one who spends in the cause of Allah will receive an ample reward from Him; his money, as it were, will be returned to him, being multiplied many times.

The interrogative form in the clause, Who is it that will lend, is used by way of exhortation, and the words, a goodly loan, have been added to indicate that this money is to be spent with a willing and cheerful heart.

It should be noted that apart from specifically national expenditures, the spending of money to help the poor and the needy also is tantamount to giving a loan to God. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "God will say to the sinful man on the Day of Judgement, O son of man, I fell ill, but you paid Me no visit; I asked you for food, but you gave Me no food; I asked you for water but you gave Me no water. The man will say, O my Lord, when didst Thou fall ill that I did not visit Thee? When didst Thou ask for food that I did not give it to Thee? When didst Thou ask for water that I gave it Thee not?' God will say, O son of man, know you not that one of My servants fell ill and you did not pay him a visit, he asked you for food and you did not give it to him; and he asked you for water and you gave him no water" (Muslim, ch. on Birri Was-Silah). This shows that spending money for the poor and the needy is tantamount to giving money to God.

The words, Allah receives and enlarges, signify that God accepts the money spent in His cause and multiplies it exceedingly so that the reward a man gets is out of all proportion to what he spends. The words, and to Him shall you be made to return, have been added to point out that, though virtuous men get their reward even in this life, yet what is in store for them in the next is far greater.

See 2:273.

Commentary:

The verse sums up the discussion on the subject of taking interest by warning the people that the day is coming when they will be made to stand before God and render an account of their deeds. They should remember the principle, "Do as you would be done by". The Holy Prophet is reported to have said,

"None of you can be deemed to be a true believer, unless he likes for his brother what he likes for himself" (Bukhari & Muslim).

3:14.

2:211; 3:110; 35:5.

Commentary:

Whereas the preceding verse referred to the appearance of the enemy in a dream, the present verse refers to its actual appearance on the battlefield. What happened was that the enemy had kept one-third of their number behind mounds so that, when both parties came face to face, Muslims saw only two-thirds of their army. The Meccan army, about 1,000 strong, was more than three times the number of the Muslims who were only 313, but it so happened that the latter saw them to be only twice their own number. This naturally made the Faithful more hopeful. As hinted above, the enemy had concealed one-third of their number from the Muslims so that (as they thought) the latter might not be overawed and flee from the battlefield. This ruse was meant by them as an enticement to the Muslims so that the latter might be encouraged to give them battle and consequently be annihilated. Indeed, the Muslims were so weak at that time that the Meccans were anxious to get them within their grip, so that they might wipe them out of existence and thus extirpate Islam. The weakness of the Muslims became all the more apparent when the Meccans actually saw them, for they saw them smaller than their actual number, and both these impressions helped to encourage either party to come to grips with the opposing party, with the result that the "thing decreed" was miraculously brought about.

3:157; 7:159; 44:9; 57:3.

Commentary:

Disbelievers wondered how an ordinary individual like the Prophet of Islam would triumph in the face of the united opposition of his numerous and powerful enemies. This verse is intended to set their doubts at rest by pointing to the rise and fall of nations and individuals in this world and draws their attention to the fact that it is inconceivable that a Messenger of the All-Powerful God Who gives life and causes death should not succeed.

Important Words:

یغویكم (destroy you). See 7:17.

Commentary:

By the words, If Allah desires to destroy you, Noah means to say that though he ardently wishes his people to accept his Message and thus be saved, his love for them cannot exceed God’s love for His creatures; and when God has decreed their destruction, the doom must be accepted as not only inevitable but also justified, and he must submit to His decree.

The verse also explodes the wrong notion commonly held that Noah prayed for the destruction of his people (71:27, 28), for it shows that it was not Noah who had prayed for their destruction but that God Himself had commanded him to do so.

The words, He is your Lord, are intended to hint that God destroys a people only when He finds that their destruction is necessary and is good for others; otherwise, being their Lord and Master, He cannot wish them evil.

Commentary:

There are two ways to test the mettle of a person, viz. (a) by making him pass through the fire of trials and tribulations; and (b) by bestowing upon him wealth and material power and prosperity. God tries His servants in both these ways. This is the significance of this verse. Or the verse may also mean that God tries man by raising His Prophets and by affording him the opportunity to win His pleasure by accepting and following them; and sometimes when a long period of spiritual darkness ensues and no Divine Reformer is present in the world, He gives men of intellect and broad vision an opportunity to follow the dictates of conscience and right teaching which is in harmony with human nature in order that they should, instead of allowing themselves to be carried away like the common run of men by the current of sin and iniquity, establish in the world the usages and practices of God’s Prophets.

2:256; 27:66; 49:17.

Commentary:

The verse implies that the great boon of prophethood is bestowed only on those who are fitted to receive it and discharge its great responsibilities. The words, "what is before them and what is behind them," may signify the attributes and qualities they already possess and those which they later on develop.